This post offers English learners 30+ examples of collaborative task (Part 3) and the discussion (Part 4) that are in the B2 FIRST. These are the 3rd and 4th tasks in the speaking exam (HERE) that learners must carry out.
In this part of the exam the two candidates are to speak together about a situation for about two minutes. They should discuss the situation and take into account all of the 5 options provided. In the end they have about one minute to come to a conclusion (agree or disagree HERE). The way this exercise is assessed is simple (see the link for more details HERE).
The interlocutor will describe the task and then the candidates have about 15 seconds to look at the information, then the should debate the topic for about 2-3 minutes. The examiners are not involved in the task and the candidates are to interact independently until the examiner says “thank you”.
This post will provide advice to be able to pass the conversation task of the B2 First. It evaluates the candidate’s Interactive Communication skills
For interactive communication “Initiates and responds appropriately, linking contributions to those of other speakers. Maintains and develops the interaction and negotiates towards an outcome”. This means that you can form questions well, you can continue a conversation and make it interesting, and you can link topics to other topics or to what your partner has said. And that you try to give a conclusion. I always tell candidates that you want to think of it as la patata caliente. You do not want to speak for too long (20 seconds maximum) and then you pass it to your partner with a question or a question tag. It is an informal conversation and you can interrupt and show disagreement. Try to be creative and give the activity a context, boring conversations usually get a bad mark/grade.
Cambridge assessment scale
What does this part of the speaking involve?
Collaborative task (part 3) 3 minutes: In this part of the exam the candidates speak together about a situation for 2-3 minutes. In this part you need to look at the 5 options or topics and use the following skills to have a conversation. They will have two minutes to discuss the options and then one minute to come to a conclusion.
- Suggest
- Initiate and respond (questions)
- Develop (maintain the conversation and make it interesting)
- Link (relate your points to those of your partner)
- Negotiate an outcome (conclusion)
What you basically need to do is hold a conversation for about 2 minutes about the different options. Suggest one of the options and you both give your opinion about it. After about 2 minutes the examiner will ask you for a conclusion and you need to try to come to an agreement about the options. Listen carefully because they sometimes ask for the best option, sometimes for the worst option or they can ask you for the two best options. So make sure that you answer the question.
Good luck and enjoy the practice material.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A QUESTION

Why not have a go yourself!
Try practicing these questions with your speaking partner to perfect these parts of the speaking exam.
Example activities (available in PDF):
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 1 FRIENDS AND FAMILY
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 2 LIFE
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 3 PLACES
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 4 THE ENVIRONMENT
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 5 HEALTH AND FITNESS
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 6 TRANSPORT
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 7 WORK
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 8 HEALTH
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 9 HOBBIES
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 10 CITIES
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 11 INTERESTS
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 12 LANGUAGES
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 13 SHOPPING
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 14 MONEY AND SALARIES
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 15 TRAVEL
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 16 FRIENDSHIPS
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 17 THE ENVIRONMENT
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 18 FUNDING AND THE ENVIRONMENT
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 19 CULTURE
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 20 SPACE TRAVEL
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION TASK (Speaking Part 3 and 4) 21 ZOOS
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASKS AND DISCUSSIONS (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 22 PHONES
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASKS AND DISCUSSIONS (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 23 ENTERTAINMENT
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASKS AND DISCUSSIONS (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 24 HEALTH AND FITNESS
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASKS AND DISCUSSIONS (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 25 LANGUAGE LEARNING
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 26 PERSONAL OPINIONS
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 27 FAMILY
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 28 PLANNING A TRIP
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 29 WHERE YOU LIVE
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 30 STUDYING AT UNIVERSITY
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 31 MUSIC
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 32 FAMILIES
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 33 LEISURE
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 34 HOLIDAYS
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 35 THE HOME
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 36 ENGLISH
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (SPEAKING PART 3 AND 4) 37 CYCLING
- B2 FIRST: COLLABORATIVE TASK AND DISCUSSION (PART 3 AND 4) 38 ROBOTS
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